Waiting

I am sick of waiting.

Every day I spend most of my time waiting, for buses, in lines, for websites to load. I understand why people steal, it use to be to save money, now it is to save time. I start my day at 8 am getting up to walk the dog, and then it is off to wait for the bus to take me to work. At the bus stop I wait at the transfer for my second bus to arrive. Then I finally get to work, and it is more waiting, for the elevator, for my computer to load, for my job to start. Then it is waiting for my first break, for lunch, for last break, finally time to go home! Yahoo. Then it is back to waiting for the bus. Finally Home.

On my days off its waiting in traffic to go anywhere and once you get somewhere then its waiting for a parking spot. Once in the store you have to get your items and then wait in line. It seems like the lines just get bigger and move slower, all in the interest of saving money for the company.

Time is money

That is what ever company I have ever worked for tells me. 30 seconds wasted per employee makes for lost money that adds up every year. Well my time is money too. If I am wasting it at your store you should pay me.

People tell me the big city is more convenient, ba-hum-bug. The convenience factor will never out weight the waiting involved with the big city and all these people who waste their and my time waiting.

That is why I am starting to shop at independents around town. Mom and Pop shops may not have the cheapest stuff, but they are always personable, and my time is never wasted. Some of the best stuff that I own has been found with the smallest store, and the best people.

I hope my boat has the same feel to it. I will spend my time wisely in searching and buying a boat. Once on a beautiful ship of the line, my time will never be wasted, but wisely spend enjoying all the leisure that craft can offer.

Long may your big jib draw.

Das Newf

The Wheels on the Bus

So I know it has been awhile since my last post, and this is something that needs to be corrected. As it turns out I am concerned about expressing myself and making sure not to sound too preachy and/or self-indulgent. Then I was told by a very wise family member that the whole point of a blog is just as such, those who want to know will, those who will get offended or bored will not.

Good Point.

As it turns out the new job that I have applied for is a government job, one that will lend itself to the pursuit of a sailing vessel. The Canadian Coast Guard is a great way to have a good career doing something interesting and challenging while working with people who share my passion. Like all government jobs it requires moving at the speed of the bureaucracy, which I am sure has tried to be measured by someone, but is probably still waiting for the results to come back.

I have applied via their “fast and convenient” website, as all public employees must, I was then told that they will process my request and forward it on to the hiring committee where it would sit for an unspecified amount of time until someone in the expanse known as government would get back to me. Well almost two months later and I finally have a response, I have been selected to do an assessment to determine if I qualify to do an interview, which will allow me to write a test to see if I will be able to do the training required to be able to do the job to which I have applied.

At least it is a move in the right direction, slowly but surely in the right direction.
My first test will have me tested in the following areas:

Arithmetic, 2+2 is still 5 right?

Checking, well will have to brush up on this, anyone for a game of chess?

Memory, what?

Coding, some of those bar codes use a lot of ink, bring pens!

Spatial reasoning, paper airplanes, check, paper boats, well it kind of floats!

Memory, no problem here

On a different note does anyone know why everyone engraves their wedding date on the inside of their wedding band? These areas all seem pretty straight forward. So off I go the see if I have what it takes.

The boat show this year was a pass, it was not filled with much in the way of new and improved, and there were many missing venues and boats, so all in all we did not miss much. Next year should be better. Until then we will just have to keep looking for something that fits us.

Long may your big jib draw

Newf

A New Year A New Start

Well it is a new year and so it will be a new start. And I know what you are thinking, hey wait it is only December and what are you drunk? Well no, not at the moment. I use December as the start of my year because December is a month that will live in infamy, and not just for Hawaii vacationers. We were though a fire that we, my wife and I, lost our house and all that was in it. But that was then, this is now, and this blog will not be a walk down memory lane. The past is the past. I know where I have been, and now I want to look forward to see where I am going. And I intend to go to the Toronto boat show in January and start my journey into the sailing world. This blog will be about that journey, into the mists. That being said here is a quick run though of my memorial maple mews lane.

The first year I dubbed the year of hell. It was filled with many new and false starts. Having to replace everything is a very interesting feeling, not having anything more than a year old, is also interesting. We filled our house with denial, and tried to manage ourselves though thick and thin, and we are now better for it. One of the few good events in that year was the fact that we married. It was complete with all the fanfare that we usually put with our self promotion. I met and married my wife in 8 months, learning to live together, be married together, and generally be together is hard enough individually and spread out over years, but compressed into one year and all at the same time is, well hell. I know we have each other’s backs at any given moment. Again we are better for it.

The second year I dubbed the year of change, we moved from the black hole that was the town in which we were living to the big city. I thought that this move would be good for us, just another freak in the freak kingdom. But it was a start to the year, and the rest was just as movable. The changes never stopped, we both got new jobs, a new apartment and a new dog. While the dog was most welcome, it was a massive change in our lives and our lifestyle.

Now it is the third year, and I dub it the year of growth, and not just in the horizontal way. I have applied to a new job and am very excited about it. It will involve moving to a small town, a big plus, as it turns out big city equal big problems. We both look forward to small town living. If all stays on course we will also be in a position to move forward with house saving and most importantly, and the reason for all this blogging will be the purchase of my first sailing vessel.

I have been sailing for many years, but all with friends’ boats, never my own. I have decided that I want to own my own sailing boat and take it ideally around the world. More realistically it will just be a crossing and a lot of cruising. I will use this blog space to document my journey though the very beginning of searching and looking for a boat to the final sail. A new year and a new start, and the first place to start the journey is at the Toronto Boat Show, January 9 – 17 2010.

My wife and I are both sailors, just not sailors together. She has many years on the water with her father, and many more with her family. I have many years on the water with friends, as my family like dry land; I appear to be the only one with salt in my veins. But we have not sailed together, and anyone who has been on the water knows the need to understand any and all signals from the cockpit or foredeck which comes only with many hours logged on ship. There are many more signals that will be given on a boat that are not verbal, but are of equal importance and both parties need to be in complete understanding. While many four letter words will mean just as much, the only way to make sure there are no missteps is to misstep and learn.

Our first ship will be something small and manageable. It will also be, most importantly expendable, so if it finds its way to the ocean floor it will be missed, but not so much that we could not carry on. And for those of you who say, why would you expect your boat to be sunk? My answer is simple, go sailing. A quick nor’easter will answer all questions on this matter. And after three years of learning, we will not be caught unprepared. This means, our first boat will be nice, but our second boat will be better, and more important, permanent.

So if you please, follow me on my journey from land lubber to cruising captain and all the ups and downs, side to sides, and overboard spills, all part of the adventure of sailing.

Long may your big jib draw

Das Newf